Guardian Bat
by Iron Robin
Summary: A series of one-shots about the rocky relationship of the Dynamic Duo. Dick Grayson's life as Bruce Wayne's ward isn't always easy. Especially when it's time to suit up as Robin and Batman. Not to mention his second life as the Young Justice League's resident hacker. But his Guardian Angel (or rather, Bat) is always there to help his Little Bird fly. Rated T just in case.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm trying my hand at writing Daddybats. This is my first time writing Batman and Robin, so please cut me a little slack. I'll do my best. Okay? Okay! Let's get on with the show.**

**I don't own Robin, Alfred, or Batman. (Trust me. I wish Robin was mine. *sigh*)**

* * *

_Snooping: To __investigate or look around furtively in an attempt to find out something, especially information about someone's private affairs._

The dictionary definition of the word popped into Dick's-Or rather, Robin's. He felt more comfortable being mischievous in costume.-mind as he surfed the Batcave's computer archives. He didn't know exactly what he was looking for. He only knew that the entire Young Justice Team had gotten the day off, it was raining outside, and Bruce had ordered him to stay in the mansion to reduce risk of getting a cold.

_You get a deathly case of pneumonia **one **time..._

So far, his findings had him underwhelmed. Seriously, he wasn't even whelmed! In fact, he hadn't been whelmed all day. That was saying something.

All he'd found were criminal records of various bad guys, and stakeout locations from the past week. Why didn't Bruce have any juicy files? He was the Batman, for flight's sake!

Robin was just about to give up when two simple words caught his eye.

_Grayson, Richard_

His eyes widened behind his mask and he rapidly clicked the _Open File _option. He viewed the most recent data and found that it was simply his logged hours in the Mt. Justice training exercises.

_Boring. Even **I **can't make myself get whelmed._

Robin continued to scroll through his file until he found the oldest entry. He scanned it with disinterest (heavy on the 'dis') until he saw the ticket.

_7/4/2006 __H__aly's Circus: Seat #2E_

Dick took his mask off as his jaw dropped. Bruce Wayne. No, scratch that. _Batman_ had been at the Circus the day his parents had died. Dick thought that Batman had simply investigated the scene after it had happened! Why hadn't he been told this? Why...

_Then, that means...Bruce just sat there and watched my parents...Why didn't he save them?_

Suddenly, Dick felt a rush of anger wash over him and he shot to his feet, storming through the clock that was the secret entrance to the Batcave.

"Master Richard, I didn't realize you were-"

"Alfred, where's Bruce?" Dick demanded.

"I believe he's in his study. Why-"

The boy didn't bother to listen as he strode from the room as fast as his embarrassingly short (at least to him) legs could carry him.

Upon arriving at Bruce's study, Dick pounded the door with his fist. ___To heck with manners._

* * *

Bruce looked up from his paperwork without a hint of surprise. He'd heard his ward coming from a mile away. That could only mean one thing. Robin was mad about something.

"Come in."

The boy barreled through the door, his bright blue eyes dark with rage. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Bruce asked with genuine confusion.

"Ai fost acolo!" Dick shouted in Romanian, his native language. (_"You were there!")_

Bruce frowned. Dick only ever slipped into Romanian when he was upset about something. "English," he reprimanded. "What do you mean?"

"Ai fost acolo când părinții mei au murit!" (_"You were there when my parents died!")_

This time, Bruce didn't bother correcting the use of a different language.

Instead of feeling shocked like he probably should have, he only felt dread. He'd feared this moment would come. Why had he thought he'd be able to keep this a secret from his adopted son?

"I'm sorry, Dick," Bruce said quietly. "There was nothing I could do."

"Nothing you could do?!" the boy all but shrieked, reverting back to English as if by habit. "_Nothing you could do?! _I was an eight-year-old watching my parents fall to their deaths! You were Batman sitting in the crowd! Why didn't you save them?"

Silent, furious tears were now making their way down Dick's face, and Bruce had to suppress the urge to embrace him. He knew that would only make things worse. "I couldn't. There were too many people. There wasn't time for me to become Batman in order to save them."

"But-"

"No. How long did it take them to fall?"

Dick blinked, the brash question seeming to startle him. "6.8 seconds," he recited by memory.

A brief pang resonated in Bruce's chest at the statement. The kid had calculated the time to a millisecond. He shook it off and continued, "Exactly. Do you think that was enough time?"

Combatting emotions flickered across Dick's face. Desperation at wanting to fight back, and disappointment at the realization that Bruce was right.

"I...I just...I wanted...I wanted there to be a way to...to have saved them," Dick choked out, the pauses in his words punctuated with hiccupping sobs. He was past the point of being embarrassed now.

Bruce took that as an invitation to step forward and envelop his ward's small, shaking body in a strong, comforting embrace.

"I know, son," he said softly, stroking Dick's ebony hair as the boy leaned against him. "I know."

After a few minutes, the boy's sobs quieted and he took a shaky breath. "I'm sorry. You know, for accusing you like that."

Bruce offered a small smile as Dick pulled away to look up at him. "Don't be. I completely understand."

Dick shot a slightly shaky grin back. "'Course you do. After all, you accused me of breaking your million dollar vase even though we both know it was you."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Bruce insisted, crossing his arms in mock annoyance.

"Oh, yeah. Mr. Show-off-to-Robin threw a Batarang that went awry."

"Humph. I never liked that vase, anyway."

* * *

**Sorry if that was too short (I tend to write short things) and if the ending was a bit rushed or off or whatever. I didn't really know how to finish it up.**

**I know people have various stories on when Bruce first saw Dick, but for the purpose of this one-shot I decided to have him be there when the disaster occurred.**

**Oh, and I made up the date on the Circus ticket. Please don't sue me!**

**Anyway. Let me know what you think about my first attempt at Batman and Robin! (And whether or not I should continue with a series of one-shots.)**


	2. Scissors

**So, I wrote more even without getting any reviews. I've been bored lately, and writing helps cure that.**

**I couldn't figure out how to change the name of Chapter 1, so that's remaining the same, but I'll be naming my chapters from now on. M'kay.**

**I don't know where this idea came from. It sorta kinda just popped into my head. Bear with me. XD**

* * *

"Okay, KF. I dare you to butcher the English language," Robin taunted his best friend.

"Seriously? Where's your sense of adventure?" Wally complained, having expected the Boy Wonder to come up with something death defying.

"Do it."

They'd been at this game of Truth or Dare in the kitchen in Mt. Justice for an hour now and both the boys were still going strong. Conner had left near the very beginning saying that the game seemed utterly pointless.

Kaldur hadn't stuck around long, either, insisting that his king needed him in Atlantis. Robin figured he just didn't want to get roped into doing or saying something he'd regret.

Megan was the only one still there. Her eyes went back and forth between the two boys as if she was watching a tennis match. They'd offered for her to join in, but she'd refused, claiming that she still didn't quite understand.

"Fine," Wally relented. He'd never understood his best friend's fascination with words such as 'whelmed' and 'aster'. "Let me think...What about neuralgia and nostalgia? Why doesn't anyone ever just have simple algia?"

Robin snorted. "Really? I guess some things are better left for the masters."

"Hey, I thought I did pretty good!" Kid Flash protested.

"Sure, sure. Okay, my turn. I choose dare." Robin always chose dare. In his experience, truth was always more embarrassing.

"Hm...I guess I'll have to make up for your totally lame dare," Wally teased, tapping his chin. "Okay! I dare you to run with," he paused, looking around like this was some huge secret, before whispering, "_scissors._"

Robin couldn't help the cackle that escaped him. "Scissors? You're kidding, right?"

Kid shook his head, holding up his right hand. "No way. Running with scissors is dangerous."

The Boy Wonder rolled his eyes as he got to his feet, rummaging through one of the kitchen drawers to grab some scissors. "This'll be a piece of cake."

"Are you guys sure about this?" Megan asked, biting her lip uncertainly. "What if someone gets hurt?"

"I'll be fine. What could go wrong?" Robin answered as he crouched down and broke into a run, hearing Wally's and Megan's footsteps behind him.

"See? Nothing to worry abou-" Robin broke off as he tripped over Conner's pet Wolf, who was lounging right in the middle of the hallway leading to the mission room.

Before his lightning quick reflexes could kick in, the scissors slipped in his grasp to carve a four inch long gash running vertical to his palm.

Robin let out a sharp yelp of pain as blood began to drip from the wound. "Ouch! Definitely not feeling the aster, guys."

"Oh my gosh, Robin!" Megan exclaimed, kneeling next to him to examine the cut.

Meanwhile, Wally was rolling around on the ground in laughter.

"Thanks for the concern, KF," Robin muttered as he got to his feet. _The only thing that could make this worse was if-_

_"Batman. 02."_

_-was if **Batman **showed up._

"What's going on here?" his mentor demanded, taking in the sights of his bleeding Bird and a chortling Kid Flash.

"Nothing!" Robin insisted, feeling his cheeks heat up. "I...uh...tripped over Wolf, and he got startled, so he buried his nails in my arm."

Batman arched an eyebrow beneath his cowl. "That doesn't look like an animal induced wound."

"Idaredhimtorunwithscissorsandheaccidentallycuthimselfopen," Wally blurted out rapidly, trying (with little success) to calm his laughter.

"Robin?"

The Boy Wonder sighed. "Yeah. Yeah, that's what happened."

The others in the room couldn't tell, but Robin could see the barely visible amused smirk making it's way into Batman's expression.

_Can I go crawl into a hole and die of embarrassment now?_

"Come on. Let's go get you cleaned up," Batman said, leading his protégé in the direction of the med-bay.

Leaving Wally and Megan behind, the Caped Crusader allowed a full blown smirk to appear. "Running with scissors, huh?"

"I thought that was just a way to get kids to sit still," Robin muttered.

"Right. I guess you know better now."

"Definitely. Oh, but remind me to use the same dare against Kid next time. Except with something worse. Like your utility belt."

"I think if I caught Kid Flash with my utility belt, he would come back a changed man."

"Exactly."

* * *

**Lame ending (and probably story. My brain goes to weird places), I know. For some reason, all my endings are terrible. **

**Anyway, it's been a few days since my last Young Justice episode, but I'm pretty sure Batman is 02 when he enters, right?**

**Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!**


	3. Woozy

**The inspiration for this one-shot came from me getting my own cavities filled and feeling sick/woozy from the dream gas they gave me. (Never using that stuff again.)**

**Oh, and I don't own any of the Young Justice members from the last chapter. (Forgot that part.)**

**And also, thank you, Queen Sound, for confirming my Batman introduction predicament. ;D**

* * *

"And you're not coming with us for recon _why?_" Wally demanded, arms crossed.

"Relax, KF," Robin insisted with a dismissive wave of his hand. "You don't need me. I've taught Kaldur a few simple hacking tricks if you need them."

"I agree with Kid," Conner spoke up, an uncertain frown marring his features. "Where are you going?"

Before Robin could answer, Megan broke in, "He's going to the dentist. For fillings."

The Boy Wonder arched an eyebrow. "Mind reading? I thought we told you you should only do that with the bad guys."

Miss Martian blushed. "Sorry. Habit."

"Batman's making me." Robin shrugged. "He found out that I'd been eating too many of Miss M.'s cookies when I had an awful toothache a few nights ago."

"Really?" the only girl on the team exclaimed worriedly. "So this is my fault?"

"No way, babe," Wally reassured her, slinging his arm around her shoulders. "You can't control how many treats Rob consumes."

Robin opened his mouth to protest, but was interrupted by the alert chiming from his phone. Appointment time.

"Good luck, my friend," Kaldur said, resting a hand on the smaller boy's shoulder.

Robin flashed a grin. "It's just fillings, but thanks. I'll be back in a few hours."

He waved to his friends and ducked into the zeta beam, appearing in the Hall of Justice to find Bruce waiting for him.

"Ready?"

"As I'll ever be. But...is it normal to be more nervous about the dentist than a brawl with Joker?"

His mentor smirked. "I think it's a healthy dose of reality, yes. Normal kids go through dentist appointments all the time."

"Right. You're...you're going to stick around, though?" Robin asked, feeling embarrassed at the uncertainty in his voice. _Really? Man up._

But Bruce just smiled like he found the whole thing endearing. "Of course."

The boy felt relief surge through him. He could always count on Bruce to be there for him.

* * *

Bruce flipped through a magazine, his brain barely registering the words on the page. His gaze would discreetly slip over to the door leading to the back room where Dick was currently residing every few seconds.

He wasn't worried about the boy. He knew everything would be fine. But there was that tiny parental instinct that insisted his son needed him.

After all, Dick had seemed unreasonably (but almost adorably) concerned about getting his cavities filled. And considering the kid rarely got worried about anything...well, Bruce was uncertain.

Not long after the thought crossed his mind, the door opened and Bruce got to his feet as Dick stumbled out, looking a little green around the edges.

"He's a tad woozy," the dentist's assistant informed him with a reassuring smile. "He didn't respond to the dream gas well."

Bruce mentally facepalmed. He should have known better. Dick often found his metabolism weak at breaking down illness.

"I'm fine," the boy said, tripping and falling into his father's waiting arms. "But you can stop the merry-go-round now...I want to get off...This horse isn't suiting me..."

"He might spout nonsense, too," the assistant continued. "As you can tell."

Bruce nodded and shooed her away. "You okay, Dick?"

"Yeah...Yeah, totally...You never told me you had a twin..."

Bruce shook his head as he picked Dick up bridal style, striding out the door and toward his car. "Dream gas. Didn't you question their decision to use that?"

"They said it would make it hurt less..." Dick returned, his head lolling to rest against Bruce's shoulder. "I thought that sounded nice..."

Bruce smiled softly and shook his head, deciding it best not to answer as he gently lowered his ward into the passenger seat, buckling him in. He wouldn't admit it, but he almost enjoyed this. Taking care of Dick like he was eight years old again brought back pleasant memories.

He shut the door and walked around to the other side, seating himself behind the wheel. He started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.

Dick was quiet the whole way to the mansion, so Bruce immediately assumed he was asleep as he unloaded the boy and brought him up to his room.

He soon found he was wrong as Dick murmured. "I love you, Dad."

The statement made Bruce hesitate in the process of tucking Dick in. He knew that the assistant had mentioned the side effects of the gas including random nonsense. But in his experience, words always had a meaning to them no matter how crazy they sounded.

That's why an all out smile lit Bruce's features as he bent over to smooth his son's hair and feather a light kiss on Dick's forehead. "I love you, too, son."

* * *

**I know that was a cliché ending, but it just felt right, you know?**

**A bit of a heads up: updates will be infrequent because school starts up for me tomorrow (homeschooled) and I feel like I'm being slammed with the amount of subjects I have this year. I promise I'll try not to abandon this story like I have my other ones. (Sorry!)**

**But enough about that. Let me know what you think about this one. Thanks!**


	4. Belonephobia

**Phew! First day of school, check. **

**Special thanks to TheImaginativeFox for the inspiration for this next one-shot. Good luck with your fillings in a few weeks, BTW.**

**Oh, and I forgot to add that this might possibly be triggering to anyone that has a phobia. I'm honestly not sure.**

* * *

Robin eyed the clock worriedly, trying to come up with a good place to hide before Batman got home. His mentor had informed him that he'd be receiving his Tetanus shot (as all young teenagers did) after he returned from the Watchtower.

Unfortunately for the Boy Wonder, he had an almost unnatural fear (belonephobia, if you will) of sharp pointed objects, especially needles. He'd never told Batman this, of course, for risk of coming off as weak or pathetic.

Sure, he'd come close to letting out his secret fear to Alfred and Wally, but one, KF wasn't always the most subtle person in the world, and two, Alfred told Bruce everything.

So, that was why he was attempting to hide up in the rafters of the attic when Bruce mounted the creaking stairs into the room.

"Dick?" he called, his eyes scanning the room. "Come out. I know you're in here."

"How?" Robin whined, flipping down gracefully to land on his feet.

"You've hidden up there since you were eight."

"Oh..."

Dick sighed, removing his mask at an urging from Bruce as he strode reluctantly out the door.

* * *

It wasn't long before Dick was perched on the operating table in the Batcave where Alfred patched Bruce up after a night out as Batman. The cool metal definitely didn't ease his nerves.

Dick unconsciously tapped his fingers against the table, his short legs dangling over thin air.

"Stop fidgeting," Bruce chided gently as he stood off to the side watching Alfred prepare the syringe.

"Sorry."

On the bright side (if there was one to this whole situation), Dick wasn't forced to go to the doctor unless something was horribly wrong with him. Otherwise, Alfred performed the simple procedures.

"I won't lie to you, Master Richard," Alfred said as he approached with the shot. "This will pinch."

Upon seeing the needle, Dick immediately felt his heartbeat accelerate to the point of his chest hurting. His brain became surrounded with a cloud of panic, and he curled into himself, hyperventilating.

He faintly heard Bruce and Alfred calling his name, but the pure _overwhelming _terror was too much for him to break free from.

_"I've always wanted to carve this Bird," Joker cackles, fingering the comically large syringe._

_My eyes widen as I struggle against the binds holding me to the metal desk. I had always had a slight fear of needles, but this sent me over the edge. _

_"What's the matter? Worm got your tongue?"_

_I shake my head, my eyes closed tight, the word 'please' leaving my mouth several times in a row. My pleading had no effect as I felt the unbearably sharp pain of the overly huge syringe poke my arm._

_It wasn't long before the poison took hold and I felt myself sinking into unconscious oblivion..._

* * *

"Dick...Dick? Dick!"

The panicked sound of Bruce's voice woke Dick and his eyes fluttered open to find both his adopted father and Alfred crouching over him, identical looks of fear and concern in their eyes.

For a split second, Dick was confused. Why were they looking at him like that? The last thing he remembered was the needle...oh. Right.

"I passed out, didn't I?" he asked with a sigh.

"Yes," Bruce answered, the panic slowly fading from his voice. "What happened?"

Dick sat up shakily and examined himself as if to make sure he was all still there. "I...um...lack of oxyg-no, food. Lack of food. Yeah."

Alfred left, feeling that this was a private affair, and knowing that Master Richard was okay.

Bruce arched an eyebrow at the boy's rushed statement. "Lack of food? We both know that wasn't the reason you fainted."

Dick sighed again, casting his gaze to the floor in shame. "Fine. I have a phobia of needles."

"You do?" Bruce asked, sounding genuinely bemused. "Why didn't you tell me? How long have you had it?"

"Ever since..." Dick trailed off for a moment, rubbing the back of his neck in another form of embarrassment. "Ever since that run in with Joker a few months ago. You know? When you found me dying from a liquid form of laughing gas?"

Understanding dawned in Bruce's eyes. "That doesn't answer my question of why you didn't confide in me."

Dick paused for a moment more, turning eyes like broken glass upwards. "I didn't want you to worry about me. Or to treat me any differently."

Faster than he could say 'not feeling the aster', Bruce had taken one large step forward to envelop his son in strong arms.

Dick instantly relaxed, blinking away the tears that had threatened to fall.

"Don't _ever_ keep something like that from me again, understand? You can tell me anything," Bruce scolded softly, not actually angry. He was too relieved that the boy was all right.

"I won't," Dick said quietly, his voice almost a whisper. "I promise."

He knew his belonephobia wasn't gone, but he did know that with his guardian by his side, he didn't need to worry. After all, what was more safe than living in the same house as Batman?

* * *

**Ugh...why can't I end anything adequately?**

**As a side note, the feelings Dick was going through as he slipped into shock? The hyperventilating, and fast heart rate, and all that? That's me speaking from my own experience. Minus the memories, that is. I have an unnatural and extremely strong fear of sharks. But I digress.**

**Thank you for all the favorites, follows, and reviews! You guys are the best motivators. Let me know what you thought of this one. Thanks again!**


	5. Late

**What are the odds that my Spanish lesson talked about how dangerous sharks are? I think the universe hates me. Seriously, I had to cover up the cartoon drawing of a shark to spare my heart. Gosh, I'm pathetic.**

**But you don't want to hear about my life. Here's the next one-shot. Hope you enjoy! (Oh, and I don't own any of the characters. Except for Raymond, the stereotypical school bully, that is.)**

* * *

"Master Bruce, I believe you're forgetting something."

Bruce looked up from his paperwork in confusion at the comment. "What are you talking about, Alfred?"

"Or should I say, someone?"

_Oh my gosh, Dick._

Bruce promptly shot to his feet, shaking his head in shame even as he grabbed his coat to protect himself from the crisp October air. How could he be so forgetful? This was the second time this week that he'd forgotten to pick Dick up from school. How scatterbrained could he get?

"Oh, but, Master Bruce?"

"What?" he almost snapped at his butler as he dashed down the front steps toward his car.

"I suggest you spend the rest of the afternoon with Master Richard. The boy certainly needs it."

Bruce wasn't entirely sure what Alfred meant by that (he thought he did an adequate job at spending time with his son), but he nodded in agreement. "Got it. Be back in a few."

* * *

Dick tapped his foot, looking both ways up and down the street, standing alone in front of Gotham Academy.

Was Bruce really late _again? _How many hints did Dick have to drop in order to get his guardian to remember he needed a ride home?

"Well, well. If it isn't Geeky Grayson. Did your Daddy forget to pick you up again?"

Dick inwardly groaned. Of all the days to be bothered by the school bully. Didn't he have anything better to do than pick on younger kids?

"Raymond," he said, his voice light and calm. "Did you have to stay for detention again? Or do you just relish bullying kids with higher IQ points than you?"

Raymond's eyes narrowed. Dick noticed that his nostrils flared like a bull on the prowl. "You better watch your mouth, Grayson. Unless you don't care about keeping all your teeth."

Dick offered a tight-lipped smile. "Oh! You mean like your mouthful of eight pearly whites?"

"That's it, punk! I'm going to-"

"-beat me up. Yeah, what else is new? You know, for a guy of your stature, I'm surprised you even have the mental capacity to strike me. After all, how can you tell the difference between my butt and my head? Considering yours look so similar. If I'm not mistaken, the term 'butthead' was named after you, right?"

Okay, so Dick knew he was going too far, but he was hoping to stall long enough for Bruce to show up. His father couldn't be that far away, could he?

"Why, you little...you..." Raymond sputtered, thoroughly flustered.

"Did I just render you speechless?" Dick asked with awe. "Wow! Wait. That's never been much of a feat. Never mind."

Raymond shook his head, overcoming the initial shock, before covering the last few steps between him and the (_much) _smaller boy.

Dick was seriously tempted to break out his ninja moves (as Wally called them), but he knew better. He couldn't risk exposing his secret identity as the other half of the Dynamic Duo.

So, he merely had to stand there and accept the beating. Talk about mortifying.

_Thump. _There went the feeling in his upper left bicep.

_Thump. _And there went his breath. Man, being socked in the gut sure _hurt._

_Thump._ When had the sky gotten right in front of him?

The sound of a car pulling up around the building brought Raymond to a stop. "This isn't over, geek."

"Can't wait..." Dick wheezed as he staggered to his feet, watching the bully dart off. Of course Bruce showed up _now._

Dick straightened up, trying his best to hide the beating he'd just took, and strolled over to the car, opening the door to slide in.

He caught Bruce looking at him out of the corner of his eye as his guardian (_Ironic description at the moment,_ Dick couldn't help but think) said, "I'm sorry I was late. I got caught up with paperwork. You know how it is."

Dick only shrugged, turning his head to look out the window to avoid the questioning about the darkening color around his right eye. _Please stop talking. Please stop talking. Please stop-_

"I was thinking we could spend the rest of the afternoon together. Just you and me."

_Great. Totally not asterous today, Bruce. _

"Dick? Is everything okay?"

_You didn't answer him. You'd better before he-_

The car eased to the right as it was taken off the road and put into park. _Before he pulls over..._

"Look, I know this is the second time I forgot to pick you up, but I'm trying to make it up to you," Bruce said, a slight berating tone in his voice. "The least you can do is reply. Even if it's to yell at me."

Dick's mind whirled. He had to get Bruce off his back. If he could just-

Too late. A hand was laid on his shoulder and he was forced to turn and look at his father.

"Dick! What happened?"

"What happened?" Dick snapped, exasperation tumbling forth. "What happened is you were late. _Again!_ And the school's resident meathead took a swing at me. I couldn't fight back because you told me never to use my skills in front of civilians out of costume."

"I didn't realize-"

"No! Of course you didn't! Because you're too caught up in your own world to worry about me, your little Bird! Or rather, your little _nuisance."_

"Dick, I never-"

"Save it. I'm walking home."

Dick violently thrust open the door and stormed away from the car, pulling his coat close around him as the wind howled. He instantly began feeling slightly guilty. He hadn't even realized he'd been _that_ mad at Bruce.

But that guilt left as quickly as it had come. He had every right to be mad! Because of Bruce, he'd had to succumb to a beating he certainly didn't deserve. Well, he hadn't deserved it at the beginning, anyway.

Dick hadn't been walking long before he heard footsteps crunching on fallen leaves and twigs behind him. He ignored the sound, turning his gaze to his feet as he picked up the pace.

"Dick, wait. Give me a chance to apologize," Bruce insisted, easily falling into step with the boy.

_Curse my short legs. _"Why should I?"

"Because I'm your father. And I feel awful for being late and subjecting you to what you went through. If anyone deserves a fist in the face, it's me."

"Well..." Dick slowed down, turning his eyes up to Bruce. "You _could _use a good whack upside the head every now and then."

Bruce chuckled softly. "You've got a point. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed you would be fine if I was late. I should have strived to be here on time. It won't happen again."

Dick looked him up and down for a moment. "You promise?"

"I promise," Bruce said emphatically, raising his right hand.

Dick was silent for a moment before nodding. "Okay. I'll forgive you. But there's one condition."

"Which is?" Bruce asked skeptically.

A mischievous light gleamed in Dick's eyes. "I get to use your utility belt in our next training session."

Bruce paused, mulling it over. "You strike a hard bargain, but okay."

Dick grinned as he followed his guardian back to the car. The day was finally starting to look up.

* * *

**This one was longer! I consider that an accomplishment.**

**Many thanks to those of you who have followed, favorited, and reviewed! It really does boost my confidence.**

**Thanks for reading! Until next time. Iron Robin out. *ninjas out***


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